Wetlands discovery halts Riley-Fuzzel road project

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, March 11, 2004

Montgomery County will have to revisit its Riley-Fuzzel Road project after wetlands were discovered on the property after construction had begun.

"In the course of building the roads, wetlands were discovered in the right of way," said Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires mitigation plans to be filed and approved before projects can proceed. The county consultant on the project, Montgomery Engineering, had certified that there were no wetlands on the property and construction began.

Riley Fuzzel Road is a joint project between Harris and Montgomery counties. The 2.5-mile road and bridge in South Montgomery County and North Harris County would replace a deteriorating roadway in the area. The four-lane road also will have an entrance and exit point to the Hardy Toll Road.

County crews discovered the wetlands area during an inspection of the project, and the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that there was .04 acres of wetlands within the project's boundaries. Following a closed door executive session, Montgomery County approved a tolling agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers, which is an after-the-fact permit application for wetlands mitigation, said County Engineer Mark Mooney.

Chance said he does not believe the oversight will lead to any fines by the Army Corps, but he expected that will require the county to replace the lost wetlands. However, Chance said he intends to hold Montgomery Engineering financially liable for engineering costs affiliated with remediation plans.

"I expect to be reimbursed for whatever money was expended in the wetlands issue," Chance said. "Wetlands delineation is an opinion. But when you hire an engineering firm, you rely on their opinions."

Chance said that once the wetlands were discovered on site, Carter & Burgess Engineers were called in to help the county rectify the situation.